Thursday, August 27, 2009

As life moves forward after our amazing trip to Utah...I have realized how much of my heart is there. It is like I am only living day to day with half of my heart when I am here in PA. I do things Half-heartedly....I don't really devote any time to friends and rarely spend much time focusing on extended family. I feel that I have just been coasting by as far as serving others especially outside of the church realm.

When we were out west I felt invigorated. I felt it was where I functioned the best as a wife as a friend as member. I am not saying I am a terrible person here....I just feel that I have been unhappy here. Not miserably, just unknowingly going from day to day. I love my family...when I am home and with them...my cup overfloweth. When I am away from them, I am a bit lost and in a daze.

I am secretly praying daily that Utah will be the place for us. Mark is working toward this as well. All I know is that change is coming and we are trying to prepare for it.

My heart yearns to be near the people who add to my selfworth and whom I can be myself with. I miss my dear friends....you all know who you are. Thank you for being true friends. Hopefully we will see you again soon. :)

Enough of that....here are some great pictures from our trip. We had such a wonderful time.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

We went to Utah from the 5th of Aug to the 18th of Aug. We had such a good time that I forgot to take very many pictures of us. We have plenty of the mountains. Luckily Mark is my full time professional photographer. It is almost like having the paparazzi following us around when we vacation. He usually gets amazing pictures. I will have to post more as I get them from him.

I will document the amazing vacation....mostly so I can come back and relive it when I am so sick of work.

Day 1 Aug 5th

We woke up at 4 stinkin am to get to the airport. Sydney and Rowyn were such troopers and actually pretty happy to get on the plane. Crazy rearranged flight schedule. State College to Detroit.....Detroit to Chicago.....and Chicago to SLC. We lived....that is all that I really want to say about it. Lets just say the last leg of the trip was a bit frustrating and I will encourage all mothers to rock their second child to sleep every night to get them to fall asleep in your arms regularly. We thought it was so great that Rowyn...unlike Sydney....would let you put her right in her crib and fall asleep without any snuggling or rocking. Now Rowyn will not fall asleep anywhere but a comfy crib. I rock and rock and rock....and she fights and fights and fights. oh well. We made it to SLC and my wonderful Sister Cheryl picked us up.

We went to Cafe Rio to pick up some yumminess and straight to her house for relaxing.

Day 2 Aug6th we traveled to Midway Utah to stay in a huge house that my parents rented for 4 days. All my sisters and all of their families were there. It was a blast. We spent the afternoon getting relaxed and unpacking. Then we went to Park City where we rode all of the rides. My cousins loved the slide....Sydney and I loved the Coaster that takes you to the top of the mountain and lets you just sail to the bottom. (we almost touched a fawn that was inches from the track) I loved the bungy jumpers where I relived the acrobats we did in Peter Pan.

Day 3 Aug 7th Four Wheeling. Fun Fun Fun. We spent hours up in the mountains in Park City Four wheeling all over the mountains. My father and I had a water fight and it ended with us both being drenched in a stream. lol. Then home for dinner and relaxing and swimming.

Day 4 Aug 8th we Went out on the boat at Deer Creek. It was very windy and we didn't stay too long. I got to catch up with my best friend from High School, Monica. She has a lot going on with her hubby's new job and moving to CA. She has 3 beautiful daughters and it was so great to see our girls playing together. I have missed her. I wish her the best of luck with everything. Soon it was time to go. We traveled the rest of the evening and returned to Beaver.

Staying at the Homestead in Midway was the funnest time we spent with my family.

Day 5 Aug 9th was a special day for Mark and the girls and I to go to St. George to our best friends Baby blessing. Lelah Riley Scott. We had a blast with the Scotts. They are such a happy family and we always feel so at home with them and their family. The blessing was beautiful.

Day 6 Aug 10th we went to the splash pad in St. George. It was uber hot and super fun. The girls loved it. They ran and ran and ran. Rowyn had a blast trying to catch the kids and playing in the water. We also got to see some old friends Mike and Emily Malliard. Mark lived with Mike in College and eventually baptized him and then did the blessing to make him and elder and then we both attended the sealing where Mark was a witness. It was great to see them.

Then we went to Cafe Rio (I know.... again) we took it home and ate with Josh and Jalee....Then we went to Cedar City. We had Dinner with our old friends Dennis and Karen and their daughter Michelle. Boy we miss them.

Day 7 Aug 11th. This was our Cedar City Day. We spent the whole day applying for jobs and visiting old friends. Then home to Beaver

Day 8 Aug12th Teeth time. My wonderful father and personal dentist checked out teeth. Sydney did awesome with one small cavity. Rowyn's teeth are great no odd balls. Mark had a perfect score with no cavities and kudos for flossing. I did not get a perfect score....2 cavities and I need to floss or I will have a lot more. oh well. I walked around looking goofy for the rest of the day...only half of my face would smile. My good friend Shandra came by this evening and we caught up on each other's lives. She has a beautiful girl sydney's age. They tried to out do each other all night.

Day 9 Aug 13th More Four Wheeling in the Beaver Mountains. Some of the tallest Mountains in Utah are in Beaver. We rode the ATVs as far as we could and then we hiked. Our two favorite peaks are Baldy and Belnap, they are both around 12,500 ft above sea level. It was beautiful and we kept missing the rain. What a blessed day.

Day 10 Aug 14th My Cheryl and her family came to visit again. We had a nice dinner and relaxed.

Day 11 Aug 15th Mark and Martin went fly fishing and Cheryl and I went Yard Sale-ing. Then Mark and I got tickets for a play in Cedar. We went to Secret Garden. It was great to see it again. Mark and I were both a part of this production when we were in College. He was Dicken...and I was a stage Manager, and back up singer. It was so much fun. We dated and some of our best memories come from spending time together during this and other productions. Seeing it again brought back wonderful memories. Although the Dicken was not even close to as good as Mark was (voice and all) and the Martha was no where near as good as Melinda was. We enjoyed it overall. Mark overheard a girl tell her friend that she had seen the same show years ago when the college did it and the Dicken was tons better. It made him feel 10 ft tall. :)

Day 12 Aug 16th. Sunday.....Church..... Dinner.....Relax. Then Mark Took Family pictures for my Sister Debbie and her family. They were super cute. Then we relaxed with my Uncle Dale and Aunt Louise.

Day 13 Aug 17th. We went to Lehi to stay with my sister. Big family barbeque and then a big family photo. I will post it soon. Then a lot of tears as we all said goodbye for another 2 years. LOTS and LOTS of tears. I am pretty sure all of us are praying that Mark and I will move back to the west soon. :)

Day 14 Aug 18th. Wake up at stinkin 4:15 AM. Get to the airport....my bag is 3 lbs too heavy. Boo. All those extra clothes we got at DI. We don't have a DI in PA so Mark and I always end up looking and buying and then having more than we took. boo. Oh well...I took a few things out and ta da!!! Grumpy airline workers. Sydney flew like an angel. Rowyn was a crazy drunken fool since I tried giving her benadryl and it made her a drunk. it was pretty funny. Overall it was a nice trip with only one layover in Detroit. We landed just minutes before a crazy crazy wind and rainstorm hit. We were lucky to have missed it. We missed our little home and Sydney missed her big girl room. What a great trip with amazing memories made.